New TFI President Chris Jahn warns members of US safety crackdown

23 September 2013 14:36[Source: ICIS news]

MONTREAL (ICIS)--Addressing delegates at the opening session of the organisation's annual conference, the new President of The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) on Monday promised to “fight proactively and intelligently to protect” members’ right to operate amid a forthcoming safety crackdown by US lawmakers.

Highlighting a recent survey that showed only 18% of people believe the fertilizer industry handles its products “safely and securely”, Chris Jahn said the deadly explosion in West, Texas, earlier this year means the sector is in the safety spotlight and faces many challenges.

“President [Obama] recently issued an executive order targeted specifically at the fertilizer industry,” Jahn stated. He said he believed this threatened members' right to operate, pledging that “TFI will fight proactively and intelligently to protect that right to operate every single day.”

“The prospect of US government intervention as a result of the tragic accident in West is very real. We are prepared to meet those challenges going forward so you can continue your work helping to feed the world,” he added.

Former President of the Washington DC-based industry group, Ford West, who retired earlier this month after 35 years, was given a standing ovation by hundreds of delegates during the conference's opening session, with his successor describing him as a “class act” and adding he is “very humbled and very honoured to be filling his shoes”.

April’s explosion and fire at the West Fertilizer facility killed 12 emergency responders and two civilians, injured more than 200 residents of the nearby town and caused an estimated $230m (€170.2m) worth of damage in the area.